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First Age
The First Age is the beginning of recorded history in Jurmangaard. It begins with the Awakening in the year 0, and continues until the beginning of the Nations in 66. The Awakening = See: The Awakening = Perhaps the most important event in Jurmangaard's history, upon which innumerable theories, religions, and fears are based. In the year 0, all those in Jurmangaard simply woke up one day, in the ruins of a civilization that had once been. They were able to speak to each other, and were able to remember simple facts of life, such as farming and metalworking, yet nothing of what had happened or why they were there. In these simple times, there were only a few groups: * The fearful Wanderers. Later splitting into the Dabun and Zenzo people, they are the slaves who later came into their own. * The entitled Wastings. Later to become the proud Nobahtu. They immediately set out to conquer. * The steadfast Wildings. Later called the Free and Southern Kingdoms, they awake largely in two portions: the Free Kingdoms to the west of the Stantorr Mountains, and the Southern Kingdoms in the north, amongst lowlands. * The practical Woodlings. Later called the Ut'aid, the Woodlings live in the towering trees of their forest. There they awake, and there they stay. They are slaughtered in mass, and move every night. The Akali, or beast of death, becomes the first deity. * The pious Whole. Later to become the Anrudha, these cleric-servants did not yet awaken, hidden away in the depths of the earth. * Others would add the Wanton and the Wilders, the savages of every direction and the ends of the world, but they are largely ignored. Early Discoveries It does not take long for these new people to discover new truths of their world. The very first magic in the world, pyromancy, is developed and used to protect against the dangerous beasts of their land. Shortly thereafter, dragons are found. The people form together into wandering tribes, known as Clans, out of fear. In these early years, most peoples are nomadic, quickly taming mammoths and trihorns as calm beasts of burden. People of the era often left gifts of these collossi's meat in order to appease the dragons that live around them. Magic in that time is primitive and ill-understood, and false rituals and shamanic superstition dominate its practice. Nonetheless, its most rudimentary applications protect and heal the clans. The first people to settle down are the Wanderers, who drift along the western shore of Jurmangaard to find an enormous mountain, which beams light in every direction. The other tribes, though they see this beacon, do not have the curiosity to travel across the continent. The Nightmares The year 21 is a year of great portents, as the world is unsettled by a near universal phenomenon: many people, across the continent, have the same recurring nightmare. They see an enormous power, churning earth, darkness, and a mountain at the center of the world. The Wildlings immediately set out North, crossing around the Stantorr Mountains and traversing their forests. While marching, they gather together into an enormous horde, streaming together from every direction, and are joined by more in the wide grasslands. This horde eventually reaches the base of the mountain, pitching tents in an unending locusts' campground. The Wastings are disturbed, but remain unsure of what action to take, until another branch of magic arises. The first Soothsayers explain the omen, and begin to explain the signs. So too the Wastings travel south along the Jalqaib River and arrive at the mountain. The Woodlings simply bear under yet another burden, suffering in silence, unable to leave their forest. Battle for the World With all the world pitched at the foot of the great mountain, which they understood to be named Tarras, conflict was inevitable. The Wildlings gather together under the leadership of their most charismatic warlord, a man named Edward the Unifier, who called himself King, and those lands his Kingdom. The Wastings, and Wanderers, who were together more numerous but far less led, began to lose ground, until the Kingfolk had taken the entirety of the land around Tarras. The two lesser peoples banded together under the leadership of one Sargon Al'Ahud, who had built a council of mages around himself, claiming the title of Emperor. These mages, intrigued by the yet-untouched beacon, inspired Sargon into a head-on attack on the Kingfolk. This begins the Long Winter, a twenty year battle at the base of the mountain. During this time, the Wanderers find themselves less allies and more slaves to Sargon and his people. They quietly breed Minor Dragons in a bid for freedom. The Prophecies As the years dragged on, the peoples of the world grew tired of the endless war. There is another major battle in the year 46, where both the Kingfolk and the Wastings clashed. During this battle, many of the Wanderers broke free, fleeing en masse with their minor dragons in order to start anew. The Wastings, now calling themselves an Empire, retreating further North. The Kingfolk begin building Edward's Wall to keep them out. In the year 49, however, all of the Clans present near the mountain are given a prophecy of power, a purpose divinely appointed. * The Wanderers who stayed loyal were given the ability to hide, becoming unobtrusive and escaping their brutal captors. * The Wanderers who had broken free with magic were given minds suited for the pursuit of theurgy, to understand more. * The Wastings were given an iron will with which to break dragons, so that they could tame even a tyrant or a dune wurm. * The Wildlings were given the greatest gift: they could earn the loyalty of dragons, bonding with them through blood. The Mountain Flees In the year 66, all changed. The beacon-mountain Tarras, which had given light to the world and insight through the darkness, gave out. The mountain itself seemed to crack and crumble, breaking into enormous tower-like shards, before standing and fleeing. It moved South towards the end of the world, gouging great holes in the Kingdoms and flooding the pristine lowlands, before disappearing amongst the Ysubor Mountains. In response, the twin leaders of the Kingfolk, Darius McGee and Harold McGee, rallied their forces to march through the empty ground left by Tarras. These great dragon riders, the first of their kind, gave battle to the Empire and Sargon's mages, driving them back once and for all. These first few were knighted, given the greatest honor amoung men and earning the right to ride dragons. To appease the clan leaders who were thus ignored, the clans divided up the whole land south of Edward's Wall, giving each lord a domain of their own to rule. Thus, the Kingfolk found themselves free, and gained their name: the Free Kingdoms. The Wastings, in their own fashion, came to a similar approach. They moved North, as Sargon was unphased by his failure. Calling himselve the Glorious Emperor, he proclaimed that their dominion was all land North of the Wall, and he searched for land built a great city in the likeness of Tarras. Thus ended the First Age, called the Early Age. Thus began the Second Age, called the Age of Empires.